Karen Pearson and Rich Orman, two of the prosecutors in the murder case against James Holmes, walk toward the courtroom. Veteran prosecutor Daniel Zook will soon join them. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)

When announcing the hiring of prosecutor Daniel Zook on Wednesday, the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s office made sure to mention prominently his expertise in death-penalty cases.

“Dan is the most experienced death penalty prosecutor in the state of Colorado and a national expert on these cases,” 18th Judicial District DA George Brauchler said in a statement, which came in a press release headlined “Top Colorado Homicide Prosecutor Dan Zook Hired by Eighteenth Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler.”

The highlighting is understandable given that Zook is about to assume a chair in what could become the most closely watched death-penalty prosecution in state history. Brauchler hasn’t yet said whether he will seek a death sentence against accused Aurora movie theater killer James Holmes, whose case Zook will take on. But Zook’s hiring is a good window into Brauchler’s thinking.

Zook’s history of death-penalty prosecutions, though, offers another window — into how complicated and difficult such cases are. Zook has prosecuted four capital cases and won a death sentence in one of them. But none of the people Zook prosecuted has been executed or is currently on death row.

In short, the four prosecutions show there is no such thing as an easy death-penalty case in Colorado.